The subject matter described herein relates to a shirt or garment which covers the upper torso of a wearer. Specifically, embodiments described herein are directed to a support shirt providing support along the chest and shoulder regions of the wearer, and having a gradual tilt of the sleeves along an axis extending across the chest and front portions of the sleeves. The support shirt is useful for a variety of sporting or work activities where support of the chest and shoulders is desired, such as, for example, a bench press shirt for weightlifting, a shirt for mountain climbing, or a rodeo rider's shirt.
Bench press shirts aid in providing an increase in the amount of weight a bench presser can lift as well as providing increased safety to the bench presser. Typically, bench press shirts are made of materials with high tensile strength such as double knit polyester, canvas, or denim which are designed to fit the wearer tightly. Such bench press shirts have portions covering the sleeves and chest which may provide tightness during lifting. Bench press shirts can also be made of spandex type fabric and be effective for support. As distinguished from ordinary shirts or t-shirts, bench press shirts have at least one area of increased support/strength, designed to augment movement of a body part by increased strength of material and/or compression.
In a bench pressing exercise, a weightlifter lies substantially flat on his back, with arms upraised. The exercise involves lowering a weight to the chest and then pushing it vertically upward until the arms are straight. The tautness of the fabric in the bench press shirt provides assistance and increased support for the underlying muscles, thereby allowing the weightlifter to lift more weight.
Weightlifting shirts typically provide a peak area of support during a bench press, referred to as the “support bubble.” Typically, the lifter tries to push the weight vertically upward in line with the support bubble of the bench press shirt. Shirt and lifter do not always have the perfect peak support area, so the lifter adjusts the bar path as much as possible to coincide with the peak of the shirt's support bubble. Moreover, the lifter can adjust the fitting position of the shirt to match the lifter's preferred bar path. For example, the lifter may adjust the position of the neck band of a bench press shirt, or may adjust the position of the sleeves in relation to the lifter's deltoid muscles. Lifters can also employ both techniques of adjusting the bar path in combination with adjusting the fitting position of the shirt. However, such shirts often do not provide sufficient shoulder reinforcement for the lifter during elevation and descent of a weight through the bar path.
Other problems exist in prior bench press shirts. During a bench press exercise, slack may exist in the material of the shirt just below the lifter's arm from the front deltoid muscle. The slack material tightens up as the bar is lowered. Additionally bench press shirts may tear or shred at the shoulder seams and neck area where the most the stress occurs. Thus, a problem that exists in the construction of prior art bench shirts is the lack of support across the shoulders of a wearer throughout the bar path of the bench press exercise.
Attempts have been made to provide a bench press shirt providing support in the arms and shoulders of a wearer. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,235 describes a shirt wherein the circumference and tightness of the area across the upper torso is less than that of the area around the waist. U.S. Pat. No. 8,578,517 describes an athletic garment wherein seams twist the garment fabric and sleeves.
Other shirt designs focus on the type of material and configuration of compressible fabrics used across the upper chest. Such designs employ fabric or material across the upper portion of the shirt which fails to reinforce the shoulders of a wearer during the bench press exercise. Additionally, such designs fail to solve the problem of preventing slack or fabric tearing. Therefore, a need still exists in the art for a shirt which provides support across the shoulders and chest of the wearer throughout elevation and descent of the weight through the bar path of a bench press exercise. There is also a need for a shirt that provides support across the shoulders and chest of a wearer for a variety of sporting or work activities.